Hennessy
Ó hAonghusa · descendant of Aonghus
Hennessy is Ó hAonghusa in Irish, said oh HAY-nus-a, and means descendant of Aonghus.
Aonghus is one of the oldest names in the language, borne by a god of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Richard Hennessy left Cork for Cognac in 1740 and the brandy still carries the name.
How it changes
- A man: Ó hAonghusa
- His daughter: Ní Aonghusa
- A woman who married into it: Bean Uí Aonghusa
- The family together: Uí Aonghusa
Where it comes from
Offaly, Clare and Cork
Also spelt
Hennessy, O’Hennessy, Hennessey
A name, not a pedigree
This is where the name came from, which is not the same as where you came from. Names were translated, anglicised, taken on by tenants and neighbours, and carried in by settlers who were no relation to the family that started them. To follow your own line, the 1901 and 1911 censuses are free and searchable, and give the county each person was born in.